Head meter



G. A. HORNE 1 Sept. 16 1924.

v Filed Dec. 29, 1923 WWWW l r l ldi "u. l

INVENTOR'.

Sept. 16, 1924. 1,50s ,519

G. A. HORNE HEAD METER 7 Filed Dec. 29 1923 v 2 SheetsSheet 2 12v VENTO'R A TTGRNEY Patented Sept. 16, 192 4. UNITED STAT GEORGE A. HORNE, F PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

Application filed December 29, 1923. Serlal No. 683,527.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnononj A. Honmi,

a citizen of the United States, residing at of have invented certain new and of Plainfield, county of Union, and State New Jersey, useful Improvements in Head Meters,

' which the following is a specification.

- objects of invention fication and be pointed out in This invention relates more especially to head meters for continuously measuring volatile fluids circulating in refrigerating cycles such as shown and described in S. Patent No. 1,471,732, granted to me on October 23rd, 1923. In meters of this character, certain residual bodies of the supercooled refrigerant are contained in and around the meter with the result that under some temperature conditions, vaporization takes place and seriously interferes with the metering operation.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved construction, combination and arrangement of parts whereby this objection may be overcome in volatile fluid meters of the nozzle, orifice, venturi, or similar types of head meters. Certain specific will appear in the specithe appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which exemplify my invention in connection with certain forms of head meters. The term head meters as used in the present specification and claims is adopted from the First Report of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Research Committee on Fluid Meters which reads as follows: Head meters are those in which the stream of fluid creates a difierence of pressure, or a diflerential head through the primary device, this head depending upon the speed and density of the'fluid.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a tion of one embodiment of my improved metering apparatus, parts being broken away, and arts shown in elevation;

Figure 2 1s a fragmentary detail showing a modified. form of the continuous flow meter; a

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical section of a venturi meter with manometer attached and constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention; and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the connections between the venturi meter shown in Figure 3 and related parts.

The measurement of a liquid refrigerant diagrammatic vertical sec-' moving continuously thru a refrigerating cycle, serves two purposes. First, it provides a ready means for calculating the refrigerating output of the system. Second, it provides a ready and accurate means for controlling the refrigeratin process. As is well known, when a fluid is passed thru a head meter of the nozzle, orifice, venturi or similar type, the velocity at the restricted oint is increased while the total pressure U. 1s decreased. Whenever such a fluid isfree from gas, such a meter is capable of accurately determining the amount of such fluid passing therethru during a given period of time. On the other hand should a volatile refrigerating liquid having a tentperature'at or near its critical temperature of boiling, be passed therethru, an accurate determination of the quantity is rendered impossibleby the presence of gas in the fluid passing thru the meter. Thus the total differential pressure between the restricted area and the full cross-sectional area of the meter, serves to indicate the necessary amount of supercooling which must be imparted-to a volatile fluid such as that used in refrigerating processes before said fluid enters the meter in order to prevent the formation of gas therein during the metering operation.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and'to the embodiments shown therein, in Figure 1, the volatile fluid which for example, has been derived from the preceding steps of compressing and condensing the gaseous refrigerant as described in my above identified patent, is conveyed by a pipe 1 to a coil 2'which is disposed within a supercooling chamber 3. A suitable cooling medium, such for example as water may be introduced thru an inlet. 4 and discharged thru an outlet 5, the effect upon theqcondensed refrigerant within the coil 2 being to reduce the temperature thereof to a point below the critical temperature of boiling corresponding to the lowest pressure to which said refrigerant is subjected within the metering tube. Leading from the coil 2 is a pipe 6 within which is located a nozzle 7 which produces a relatively high-pressure at the upper end 8 of a tube 9 which opens at its lower end into an equalizing chamber 10. At the same time a relatively low pressure is produced at the upperend 11 of a tube 12 which opens into the right handequalizing chamber 13. Said equalizing chambers are connected by a U-shaped manometer tube 14; within which is placed a body of Jployed to partly fill the equalizing-chambers and 13. In order to maintain the oil columns on a. common lever in both of said chambers, an oil pum 16 may be provided with a tube 17 which divides at its upper end into branches 18 and 19- leading respectively to the equalizing chambers 10 and 13. As indicated in Fig. 1, the upper surfaces of the oil in equalizing chambers 10 and 13, are maintained on a common level, said chambers being provided with sight gage tubes 19 and 20 forthis purpose. It willbe understood from this description that the spaces above the oil levels within the equalizing chambers 10 and 13 as well as in the columns 9 and 12, are filled with residual bodies of supercooled condensed retrigerant thru which-the difierential pres-.

sures are transmitted to the oil and mercury columns. It will be understood therefore that by knowing the density of the mercury, oil and refrigerant as well as the differential pressures transmitted thereto .by -means of the residual bodies of the volatile fluid, it is surrounding-the vertical columns 9 and 12- .and equalizing chambers 10' and l3. The

a simple matter to calculate the flowof retrigerant thru the meter according to well known laws. In order to render this process of metering efiective under certain unta" vorable conditions of temperature to which the meter-is sometimes exposed suitable and eficient means are provided for preventing volatilization in the residual portions of the volatile fluid. For this purpose, those portions of the meter which contain said resid ual portions, areprovided with cooling means which in the present embodiment of my invention comprises an outer shell 21 portions of said jacket which surround said equalizing chambers are connected by a tu bula-r passage 22. "With this arrangement an inlet opening 23 for the-cooling mediurmj may be provided in the upper end. of the outer shell surrounding the column 12 and a discharge outlet 24 in the upperend of the shell around column 9. The'cooling water will thus pass downwardly around the equalizing chamber 13 thru'the passage 22 and upwardly around the equalizing chamber 10' (ill and out of discharge passage 24 In the modification shown in' Figure 2,"the section 25 of the pipe or 'conveyer is jointed to an adjacent section 26 thereof, a'partition 27 provided with an orifice 28 being interposed between said sections for the purpose of producing adifferential pressure between the vertical columns 29 and 30 which lead to equalizing chambers (not shown) corres onding to those shown in F gure l. A

jacket til-tor eoolingmed'um is arranged neonate bers and around the equalizing chambers 36 and thru the tubular passage 3?, and thence upwardly around the equalizing chamber 38, thru the annular'chamber 39 V surrounding the piezometer ring 40 and out of the discharge outlet 41. A general diagram of the arrangement of this venturi meter in a refrigerating system, is shown in- Figure 4, according to which one end of the Venturi tube is connected to a supercoohng or heat interchanging chamber 42, while the other end thereof is connected to. a pipe leading to an evaporator (not shown). According to my above identified patent, a fluid intercooling chamber is arranged betweenthe. venturi meter and said evaporator.

ll claim:

1. The combination with a head meter provided with restricted and unrestricted sec tions, of means for supercooling a volatile fluid before passing thru said meter, means for measuring difi'erential pressures existing between said restricted and unrestricted sections, portions of said measuring means being accessible to said supercooled volatile fluid, and means for cooling said portions of the measuring means for preventing vaporization of the volatile fluid therein.

, 2. The combination with means for meas uring the diiderential pressures of a differential pressure meter, said measurimz means having a space for accommodating a residual portion'oi a condensed volatile fluid to be metered by said meter, and means for maintaining the 'walls of said measuring .means contiguous. to the space occupied by are the residual body of said'volatile fluid at a temperature not exceeding the critical tems prising a meter tube having portions in which said volatile fluid 1S SllbJEClQCl to chi ferent pressures, and means for coolingqiior tions of said metering apparatus for main tainingia temperature lower than the critical temperature of boiling corresponding to 1.-

lowest pressure prevailing in any portion of saidappar'atus.

at. The combination with meansfor cooling a compressed and condensed in is lid .perature of boiling'of said fluid under the least pressure to which it is sub3ected mrefiigerant of a head meter connected thereto, said meter being provided with means for maintaining said refrigerant at a temperature below the critical temperature of boiling correspon to the lowest pressure attained by sai refrigerant during its passage thru the meter. 1

5. The combination with means for supercooling a compressed and condensed volatile refrigerant, of a head meter connected thereto, said meter being provided with means for supplying a cooling medium to the walls H refrigerant in said meter.

6. The combination with a conveyer for 15 compressed and condensed volatile refrigerant, of means for supercooling said refrigerant as it passes thru said conveyor, and a head meter connected to said conveyor, said meter being provided with a cooling medium jacket for preventing any vaporization of the volatile fluid within said meter.

GEORGE A.- HORNE. 

